UPDATE, Sept. 9, 2008, 3:30 p.m.: After the shortlist was announced today, London bookies listed the odds for the eventual winner of the prize: William Hill has named Sebastian Barry the 2-1 favorite to win the Man Booker Prize in October. The odds-makers at Ladbroke’s called Aravind Adiga the favorite with Linda Grant close behind www.themanbookerprize.com/news/stories/1136.

Netherland has 3-to-1 odds in its favor with a leading betting agency

Was it Hurricane Gustav? In my wisdom I didn’t think to Google “bookies’ favorites” + “2008 Man Booker” + “shortlist” before predicting that Joseph O’Neill’s novel Netherland would waltz into the final six on Tuesday. Now that I’ve hit the “Search” button, it seems that I am far from alone in my view. In fact, it appears that only people who don’t think Netherland will make the shortlist are those who think that “God Save the Queen” is the national anthem of Venezuela. But even with the 3-to-1 odds in his favor, O’Neill will be far from a sure bet to win if he makes the finals. He was born in Ireland and an Irish writer, Anne Enright, won last year. And he’s become a U.S. citizen, which could work against him if the judges are among the many Brits whose favorite insult for the former prime minister was to call him “President Blair.”

Note: Other favorites of those placing bets with the William Hill agency, in order, include Salman Rushdie’s The Enchantress of Florence, Tom Rob Smith’s Child 44, Sebastian Barry’s The Secret Scripture and Linda Grant’s The Clothes on Their Backs. Click here for the bookies’ odds on all the titles on the Booker longlist announced in July www.themanbookerprize.com/news/stories/1108.

Update: After William Hill posted its list, the Ladbroke’s betting agency released a list that named Rushdie the favorite and ranked O’Neill third. Read the Ladbroke’s list here www.themanbookerprize.com/news/stories/1111. Rushdie won the 1981 Booker for Midnight’s Children.